The present invention relates to a grooved pizza crust and to a method for making the grooved pizza crust.
Pizza is a food product that continues to increase in popularity and in the varieties of pizzas that are available. xe2x80x9cThick crustxe2x80x9d pizza is one type of pizza that has increased in popularity over the last several years. Thick crust pizza includes a crust component and a filling or topping component. The crust component of a thick crust pizza is significantly thicker and may be deeper than the crust of a traditional pizza.
Thick crust pizza is traditionally made by applying a layer of edible oil onto the bottom of a pan in order to impart a crisp texture to the crust. The oil also assists a consumer in removing the pizza from the pan after the crust has been baked. A pizza dough is then placed in the pan and is proofed, or allowed to rise, in the pan, substantially filling the bottom and sides of the pan. This proofing step imparts the desired texture and thickness attributes associated with thick crust pizzas. The dough is then baked in the pan, and the oil in the bottom of the pan imparts a crispy, fried-like texture to the bottom of the crust.
Due to the increasing popularity of thick crust pizzas, it has become advantageous for retail pizza outlets or pizzerias to use pre-proofed, freezer-to-oven pizza crusts to reduce the time involved in mixing, proofing, then baking, a thick crust pizza dough from scratch. The expression xe2x80x9cpre-proofed,xe2x80x9d as used herein, shall be used to indicate that the dough is proofed prior to being frozen. The expression xe2x80x9cfreezer-to-oven,xe2x80x9d as used herein, shall be used to mean that the frozen dough does not need to be thawed prior to baking in order to result in a desirable baked product. Using pre-proofed freezer-to-oven pizza crusts also reduces the cost associated with excess pizza dough, since the pizzeria can simply remove a crust from the freezer, place it in a pan containing oil, top it and bake it to fill each customer""s order, rather than having to estimate how much dough will need to be proofed or thawed at the beginning of the day in order to fill every customer""s order that day. Without the use of pre-proofed, freezer-to-oven pizza crusts, pizzerias often face running out of proofed or thawed dough before the end of the day, or having excess proofed or thawed dough which cannot be re-used but must be thrown away at the end of the day.
Despite the advantages of pre-proofed, freezer-to-oven pizza crusts, it has been difficult for the retail baker to obtain the same crisp, uniform texture on the bottom of the crust as obtained when using a freshly prepared pizza dough crust.
One major disadvantage of using a pre-proofed, freezer-to-oven pizza crust dough is uneven heating of the bottom surface of the dough during baking. The uneven heating is believed to occur because of water vapor released from the dough during baking, which is trapped between the bottom surface of the dough and the pan. The water vapor cannot escape from the bottom of the dough due to the presence of oil in the pan, which effectively forms a seal between the pre-proofed frozen dough piece and the pan. The seal traps the water vapor under the dough and has an insulating effect between the bottom surface of the dough and the pan.
The seal or sealing effect caused by the oil is believed to occur specifically with pre-proofed freezer-to-oven dough because the dough piece is rigid (frozen) when it is placed in the pan containing the oil, and the dough piece is sufficiently large to substantially fill the pan. The dough sticks to the oil, leaving little or no air space between the dough and the pan. As a result, water vapor that is generated during baking is trapped and cannot escape from the bottom of the pan.
The most noticeable outcome of this uneven heating is the non-uniform texture and color of the bottom surface of the baked pizza crust. Rather than being uniformly crisp and browned like a freshly prepared pizza crust, the bottom surface of a crust baked from pre-proofed, frozen dough can be soggy and pale, particularly near the center of the crust, resulting in an unappealing product which does not meet the expectations of the pizzeria customers.
U.S. Patent No. 5,503,063, issuing Apr. 2, 1996, describes a pizza crisper that is formed from aluminum sheet metal. The crisper includes a bottom portion and an annular rim, which rises above the bottom portion. The bottom portion is perforated and includes a succession of annular bands separated by annular grooves, which can be bridged by pizza dough. This type of pizza crisper is not suitable for a thick crust or pan pizza because the holes in the bottom of the pan or crisper cause oil to leak out.
The Hoffman, Jr. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,434, issuing Dec. 31, 1991, describes a pizza dough shell container. The container includes a circular rim and a framework with a series of circular bars spaced apart to form openings and radially directed bars. U.S. Pat. No. D,371,043, issuing Jun. 25, 1996, describes a brick baking rack. The brick baking rack imparts a brick-like pattern in a pan.
The Muchin et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,608, issuing Apr. 4, 1994, describes a baking device that has surface texturing. The surface features provide the baking surface with a non-stick effect.
The present invention includes a pre-proofed, freezer-to-oven dough. The dough includes a top surface suitable for receiving a pizza filling or topping, and a bottom surface opposing the top surface. The bottom surface includes a plurality of grooves.
The present invention also includes a method of imparting a crisp texture to a bottom surface of a pre-proofed, freezer-to-oven pizza dough upon baking the dough. The method includes proofing a pizza dough to create a top surface and a bottom surface on the dough, and imparting grooves to the bottom surface of the dough. The dough is frozen before or after the grooves are imparted to the bottom surface of the dough.
The present invention further includes a mold for imparting grooves in a dough piece. The mold includes a main body with an upper surface, and a plurality of ridges extending upwardly from the upper surface.